


Moving In

by coplins



Series: Packrunners [40]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dentists, Family Shenanigans, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, M/M, Moving In Together, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pack Bonding, Pack Building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coplins/pseuds/coplins
Summary: The big day is finally here for Dick. The Winchesters moved in a day prior and now it's his turn. Everything doesn't go flawlessly for everyone, though, and Dean has a problem coping with a few requirements for the move. Luckily, in a pack, there's always someone looking out for you.





	Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> There's slight violence in this installment, connected to the Primal nature of the boys. It should not be mistaken for abuse. I'm writing these boys with very animalistic behaviour that set them apart from Progressives. Hence, physical fights happen more often but don't necessarily equal abusive behaviour. :)

* * *

“Are you sure you don't want any help?"

“Yes, dear." Dick gives Marlon a mild smile and puts down the box. He's moving in his stuff. The elevator has been unlocked to go up to his floor too and when he came he'd been happily surprised to find that the guys had cleaned the floor thoroughly. They didn't have to. Dick had mentally prepared to clean his two rooms along with the salon connected to it. There's no use cleaning spaces you don't use. “Have the Winchesters finished unpacking?” he asks.

"Sam has. Dean hasn't even chosen a room yet,” Marlon says with a concerned expression leaning on the door post.

“Really? I thought they moved in yesterday already?”

"They did. But Dean kept himself busy. First, he helped Sam unpack, then he helped the boys clean your floor, then he cooked. I kept bidding him to choose a room but he waved it off and smelled of anxiety.”

Dick purses his lips in thought. “Hmm. He might have a problem with isolation which might translate into discomfort at choosing a bedroom of his own. Anytime Sam and I didn't sleep at home he spent the night elsewhere.” Dick’s noted this about Dean. He’s independent and quite capable to exist on his own, but left to his own devices he searched out company and made friends with enviable ease. He adopted and protected people weaker than him and befriended equals and stronger people. Dick had seen how Dean had made himself an appreciated and valuable part of the workforce―not only by being hard working but by being sociable and friendly―when he investigated the sexual harassment charges Mike laid at Luci’s feet. But knowing what he knows of Dean today it’s easy to see that there’s more to it. It might not have been a coincidence that Dean moved in with the first suitable Alpha he found even if said Alpha spent a lot of time away. The time Dean spent Siderunning for his pack, _alone_ , might have scarred him more than one would think, especially considering it happened after coming out of a deep depression caused by loss, to begin with.

"Really? You wouldn't happen to know where?”

Dick shakes his head. "No. But I've caught the scent of the head of security at work on him so my money's on him.”

"Michael's Siberian?" Marlon asks in bemusement.

“Michael's?" Dick counters with the same bemusement.

"Mike's in love with an Alpha of another species, Aleksandr Chaadayev, and he owns Heimdallr Security that we now employ.” Marlon doesn't look happy about it.

"Chaadayev. Yes, that's it. Dean calls him Sasha and he says they're best friends.”

"My, my. Funny how Dean never mentioned this," Marlon says with a slight frown and a tone saying it isn’t funny in the least.

“You mind?"

“When my mate goes behind my back to spend his nights with an Alpha that isn't part of the pack that raises some concerns for me, yes.”

Dick shrugs. “Dean strikes me as an honest soul. I’m sure he won’t lie if you ask him about it. But you haven’t known him for very long. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s hesitated to bring up a topic he anticipates having to fight for, right off the bat. So I suggest you go ask him right away to avoid misunderstandings,” he says and opens the box he just put down to take out sheets for the bed. The bed is big enough for two people to lie comfortably which is more than big enough for him no matter what Mike says.

“I will. As soon as he gets back. They’re not at home right now.”

“Oh? Where are they?” Dick asks and removes one of the down comforters from the box. As a kit, he’d have killed for a blanket like this. Literally. He’d had a pretty warm comforter stuffed with feathers for a while before it got stolen, but it was nothing like these. These were filled only with the smallest, softest down. No pointy shafts poking out through the fabric anywhere.

“I sent them to get a medical exam and then a checkup with a dentist. I would have asked you to do the same but I already know you see a doctor regularly and Raphael said you take two hours off every year for a dentist appointment.”

Dick freezes mid-move then slowly stands up straight. “Oh dear. And the Winchesters both went willingly?”

Marlon chuckles humorlessly. “Oh no. Not even close. Samuel went eagerly. But getting Dean to go was, figuratively, like pulling a tooth.”

Dick withholds a giggle, lips twitching in amusement. “Oh?” he prompts.

Marlon sighs and shakes his head. “He said he wasn’t going to be turned into some kind of science experiment, that there was nothing wrong with his health and I was welcome to siphon him to check for myself, and that doctors are greedy people who like to see others suffer and die unless they pay a lot of money. I think it was Sam’s impatience to get going that finally convinced him.”

Dick grins. “I hope you sent your sons to stick by Dean’s side at all times.”

“Of course not. Dean’s a grown man and a competent Main to boot. He doesn’t need someone to hold his hand during a medical exam. One of the boys is with him but he’ll be waiting outside.”

This time Dick giggles. “Want to bet 10 grand that that decision will come back to bite you in the ass, dear?”

Marlon narrows his eyes. “You don’t make bets you think you’ll lose,” he says suspiciously.

Dick smiles innocently. “Is that a yes or no?”

Marlon draws breath to answer but his phone rings before he can say anything. He takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID before he answers. “Father speaking…. He did _what_?!”

Marlon’s shocked and outraged expression, eyes wide, makes Dick laugh out loud.

“...Uhuh. And what did Luci do then? …..WHAT?..... Do I need to come down there or do you think you can manage to get them both home without further incidents? ….Good. See that you do. Bye.” Marlon hangs up, makes a frustrated noise, squeezes his eyes shut and turns to lean his forehead against the door post. “Why is he like this?” he complains, then adds “Would you please stop laughing?” He smells of anger. Dick’s figured out it’s his go-to emotion for any type of stress.

Dick struggles to suppress the laughter. “What did Dean do?”

Marlon sighs and opens his eyes. “Apparently he attacked the dentist. There was luckily no bloodshed but he made the pack call of distress so Luci broke down the door and decided to forgo common sense in favour of saving Dean from his so-called _assailant_.”

“I told you so~” Dick sing songs with a teasing grin.

Marlon makes a disgusted sound and turns to leave but stops to turn around and scowl at Dick, pointing a stern finger. “I'm _not_ paying you ten grand," he declares.

When he leaves Dick doesn't hold back a cackle.

* * *

The door to the indoor-stairwell is open so Dick hears when the boys come home. It’s just a faint sound of liveliness except for when they pass the stairwell downstairs - then Dick catches a sentence or two.

“ _...But, Papa, he was trying to drill holes in my mouth with this huge-ass drill and…_ ”

It makes him chuckle as he goes about his business unpacking at a sedate pace. Maybe two hours after the boys came home he hears a knocking in the stairwell and goes to check. Dean is sitting on the stairs, only his head poking up over floor level. “Heya. Can I come up?”

“Of course you can, dear. No need to wait for permission. We all live here, after all.” The anxiety he’d felt before his first visit here has been replaced with a daunting sense of anticipation at starting a new chapter of his life. The people he’s moving in with―old friends and new alike―are all people he gets along with and feels a great deal of affection for. It makes it easy, if still somewhat scary. On top of it all, Marlon’s showing a much more human side of himself now that Dick’s part of his inner circle and Dick finds himself more drawn to the man behind the mask with every interaction, even, or _especially_ , those times there’s no flirting involved.

“Yeah, but I figured since you chose your rooms on another floor you must want privacy?” Dean says, voice lilting up at the end making it a question.

Dick smiles. “If I want privacy I can go to my room and lock the door. Want to see how it looks? I’m almost done.”

Dean perks up and comes up the rest of the way. “Yeah. Oh, and did Papa tell you? I annexed the kitchen on this floor to put all the food we brought. If you’re hungry but don’t feel like going downstairs you can help yourself.”

“Thank you. I heard your visit to the dentist wasn’t a raging success but how did the doctor’s visit go?” Dick asks as he leads the way to his rooms.

“It was alright. I was a bit sceptical beforehand. I mean, they did nothing to help Cas, but… The doctor, Margarete, she explained everything she did before she did it, showed me my vitals and explained what everything was and so on. I had to take a bunch of shots and I have to come back in a month to take another load of shots. But that didn’t bother me. I’m cool with shots.”

“Vaccines?”

“Yeah. How cool is that anyway? That you can just inject an already dead or super weakened disease and deliver a blueprint of how to kill it straight into the body? _Awesome_. Like installing a new program in a computer,” Dean enthuses. “I told her I want all of them.”

“ _All_ vaccines?” Dick smirks to himself at this unexpected reaction. A lot of people, especially with no or little education, or overly religious people, tend to be suspicious of vaccines. Seb had talked about it once. How they should be free and distributed to everyone to create herd immunity. But a colleague of his had tried to do a drive to get people in the slums vaccinated for free and failed due to this. Apparently, Dean isn’t one of those sceptics.

“Yeah. She told me a firm no. She said you can’t just do such a huge info dump into the body, that you have to spread it out over time, especially with some vaccines. And she said there’s no point taking vaccines for diseases that only exist in places I’m never going to visit. I asked her what places and wrote down her answer, then I called out to Luci and when he poked his head in I asked if we could go to those places. When he said yes I told Margarete I needed those too because I’m en route to travel.” Dean grins. “You shoulda seen her fed-up expression. When I was about to leave she stopped me by the door and smacked my bottom. _Trice_. And no gentle pats either. I swear, man, I couldn’t stop laughing.”

Dick laughs heartily, feeling that infatuated swell of his heart. “I’m sure she’ll develop a love-hate relationship to you if you keep going to her for your appointments.”

Dean smirks and looks around the bedroom they just entered. “Yeah? Well, Sam seems to have developed a love-love relationship with his doctor. He says that conceited, puffed up, handsome asshole is a friend of yours? Not that he used those words.”

“Sebastian? Oh yes. He’s saved my life probably more than once. He's a bit full of himself but if you see past that he's a good man. Did you know he entered the field of medicine because he wanted to cure stupidity?”

Dean sniggers. “He certainly has his work cut out for him. Hey, I like what you've done with the place,” he adds and makes a sweeping gesture towards the room. “It's cosy. And between my collection of blankets and all your pillows, I'd say we have enough to get the whole pack through the winter.” He grins and waggles his eyebrows.

“Oh? Are you saying you've got enough blankets?”

Dean deflates. "Probably, yeah…” He has this discontent expression with a hint of annoyance in his scent that tells Dick someone else must have suggested a stop to the blanket hoarding.

"Oh dear. What a shame. Then I bought this for you completely unnecessarily,” Dick says innocently and takes forth a big soft gift wrapped in shiny paper with a silk ribbon.

“F-for me?" Dean stutters with wide eyes.

“Yes. As a moving in gift, if you will." Dick holds out the gift and chuckles when Dean all but bounces to receive it. Dean opens the ribbon carefully and puts it in his pocket then tears the wrapping carelessly. It's those little things that show Dean's heritage. A ribbon is useful but the wrapping is mainly good for lighting fires. 

Dean pulls out the big silvery, faux fur blanket and touches it reverently. “It's so soft..." he breathes. He wraps it around himself. "Man, it's _huge!_ " He flares and chirps delightedly.

Dick's heart makes another infatuated flutter. Dean's just so… natural. His reactions come from the heart and that makes him so easy to love. Dick purrs happily when Dean flops down on the bed and rolls himself into the blanket burrito style. Dick lays down beside him and hitches a leg over him, supporting his head in his hand elbow on the bed. “So I take it you don't have enough blankets after all?”

“Fuck no. Thanks, man, this is great."

“Mh. Marlon says you haven't chosen a room yet.”

The smell of anxiety instantly adds a sour note to Dean's scent. “Um. Yeah… I've been busy.”

“I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to choose the room between Marlon's study and the library. Then you're going to choose a desk, a brand new computer, a stereo with good headphones, a nice recliner, wardrobe and drawers, something stupid like one of those fake fireplaces you light with a remote, posters or paintings and other decorations, and lastly a Murphy bed that you can keep folded up since you'll sleep with us anyway. You can use the room when you have a headache and we won't shut up or when you work from home in the future. There’s no need to actually use it as a bedroom.”

Dean relaxes. "Okay. I can do that. But for the record, if I want peace and quiet I can hang in the library.”

Dick huffs. "Don't be silly. You won't be able to put your foot in there before Sam goes 'So get this…’ and gives you a long explanation of the latest thing he read.”

Dean giggles. "Okay, fair point.”

"Dean. If you don't ever use the room that's fine. But it's important for the boys that you pick a room so they feel like you feel like you belong. Marlon especially worries. Picking a room will be a symbol of goodwill. Plus you've got a bunch of very rich men gagging to spend money on you. So I suggest you march down there diva style and announce you want to go shopping for your room and then you choose all the stuff you remotely like but don't need, and watch their mixed happiness and annoyance when you insist they do all the carrying.”

Dean cackles. "Sounds fun.”

Dick purrs, contentedly anticipating the mayhem Dean will cause shopping with the boys. “What really happened at the dentist?"

Dean turns serious. “That was scary as fuck, man. First, he kept poking with these hooks of death. Then he said he found something that looked like a hole and brought this instrument of torture to _drill_ a hole. I freaked the fuck out. Papa wants me to go see another dentist but I get a cold sweat just thinking about it.” Dean shrinks into his blanket burrito so only the top half of his face sticks up and looks up at Dick with big, worried, green eyes. 

"How about we go together to my dentist, Sally? She's very careful and I'll be with you the whole time, holding your hand. I'll make sure you get through it,” Dick suggests.

“You'd do that?"

“Of course, dear." Teeth repair themselves over time more often than not given that you ate and slept well and took good care of your dental hygiene. According to his dentist, the process was pretty swift for those who shifted their teeth often. But that could also backfire. If you have a hole with something stuck in it the body could simply embed it in the tooth and either encapsulate bacteria to eat at the tooth from within or malform the tooth like a guy Dick remembers from his youth. That guy had gotten a piece of bone stuck between two teeth in the back of his mouth and they'd formed a sharp cone around it that kept scratching the inside of his cheek bloody. All morphic species are more sensitive to foreign objects stuck in the body. Someone whose morph-cells have gone dormant could happily live his life with a bullet stuck in his body while someone who often shifted risked the morph-cells surrounding the bullet going nuts, creating these huge growths that never stop expanding. Worst case, if you had the foreign object stuck in you long enough the body might rewrite your DNA, sort of ‘this is me now’, like the guy with the bone splinter in his teeth. It is possible that if a dentist filed down the cone and removed the bone, the teeth would still regrow the spiky cone. Sebastian had gone on a rant about how incredible and stupid the body is because of this. Morphic species can evolve over a lifetime as other species do over generations, but it’s still trial and error and the body might very well go ‘Seems legit. We’ll keep it,’ about the most idiotic traits it tries out.

“Alright. I'll go. But promise you won't leave my side, okay? I fucking panicked today. As in full-blown buffalo stampede panic. I didn't mean to scare the crap out of the dentist but in my defence, he started it when he decided to shove a murder-drill into my mouth.”

Dick chuckles. "I promise. Now go rope the boys into shopping before the stores close.”

* * *

“No, son, that’s not how you do it. You need to―” 

“ _Shut up!_ ” Luci does an annoyed, dismissive motion with his arm without looking up, heedless of the annoyance in his father’s scent that causes.

“But, son, according to the manual―”

“Father, I don’t _need_ a manual. I can assemble a fucking Build-O-Plex bed all by myself, thank you,” Luci growls while keeping his focus on the bed-to-be. He’s sitting on the floor with all the parts spread out around him, trying to fit two parts of the Murphy bed together. Raff has occupied a corner of the room to also assemble Build-O-Plex furniture. He’s already done with the desk and one set of drawers and has moved on to a wardrobe. _He_ reads the manuals. Gabe is mounting a hidden speaker system with great efficiency and Michael is putting up a flat screen TV on the wall―one that will be hidden behind a painting when not in use. Gabe and Luci have already installed the wall mounted electric fireplace.

Marlon crosses his arms and lowers his eyelids with a dissatisfied twist to his lips. “You’re building something alright, but it isn’t a bed. Will you, please, bear in mind that it’s for one of our three greatest treasures and not meant to be a deathtrap for an enemy.”

Luci turns his head enough to growl threateningly and show his fangs. Marlon emits a short roar that makes Luci cower and turn back towards the bed components but he keeps growling a low threat under his breath, his father’s chastising be damned.

Dean steps out of the doorway to the library where he’d been spying on them and instead goes to check on them in person. “How’s it going, Papa?” he chirps and claps a hand to Marlon’s shoulder to lean on him while he looks inside to see his room take shape. Dick had been right. They’ve fallen all over each other to get to help. All wearing a similar expression of horror when Dean declared he wanted to shop most of his furniture at the giant Build-O-Plex store, with a few exceptions. The huge, thick, fluffy rug is bought at one of the fancy-ass stores the Williams deemed fitting, same with all the electronics. And the paintings are from an art gallery they’d passed that caught Dean’s eye. The ceramic animals also came from an expensive store with goods from accomplished artisans.

“Fairly well. Aside from somebody deciding it would be a good idea to let Lucifer try his hand at assembling the bed. Son, you realise you didn’t have to buy Build-O-Plex furniture? We have the means to buy sturdy, finely crafted, handmade furniture from well-renowned makers.”

“Pfft. Dude. These are made in _factories_. How awesome is that? Like giant puzzles for sensible adults,” Dean enthuses.

Marlon looks at him funny. “Seeing you at work nobody would expect you weren’t born an oligarch, but then you say things like that and it becomes apparent how different worlds we really come from.”

Dean huffs. “If I wanted handmade I coulda made it myself.”

“You can make furniture?” Raff asks, silencing the screwdriver to look at Dean curiously.

“Sure. I can build practically anything. I mean, the animal carvings I did on the bedposts on my bed back home was fairly crude. Building stuff, I can do. My artistry? Nnnn….” Dean wiggles his hand in a so-and-so gesture. “But a lot of the stuff we made look pretty much the same as your stuff, except yours is made out of imported wood like mahogany and shit. We made ours from the trees that grew in our forest. Most of our wood and metal work we made during winter when the weather was bad.”

“Would it be an insane request to ask if you could build a new bed for me?” Raff asks almost shyly but with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes.

“What’s wrong with the one you have?” Dean asks.

“Absolutely nothing?”

Dean blinks bemusedly at him for a moment then breaks out in a grin. “Sure, I can do that.”

Raff chirps in delight and goes back to work. 

“Raff has a thing for gifts we make ourselves. I think he’s kept everything we’ve ever made for him,” Gabe tells Dean while mounting another small speaker just under the ceiling while standing on a ladder. Dean makes a mental note of relaying that information to Sam and Dick.

“Including the plastic pearl bracelets and necklaces I made for him as a kit,” Mike chips in. “As well as every scarf and beanie Luci ever knitted for him. And he makes new ones every winter.”

“They’re very comfortable,” Raff remarks almost snippily.

“At least _someone_ appreciates them,” Luci mutters.

“You can knit?” Dean asks Luci with wide eyes.

“Du-uh,” Luci answers sourly, still focused on the ‘puzzle for sensible adults’ in front of him. Maybe that description should have hinted at it not being made for him.

“You should have asked him to make you a sweater instead of assembling your bed and everyone would have been safer for it,” Marlon sighs.

“You’d do it better?” Dean asks.

“Doubtlessly. But there’s no use trying to get him to stop when he gets like this.”

“This thing is broken,” Luci complains. “They haven’t included the right parts.”

“Son, the manual says―”

“ _No!_ I told you, I know how to do this, it’s they who’ve failed to include the right parts,” Luci insists. 

Dean sniggers and looks at Marlon. “Wait here. I’ll be right back,” he says and runs off to come back a while later with a stick he took from the tree outside. “I’ll lure him away and you’ll take over, okay?” he whispers then enters the room to, from a safe-ish distance, poke at Luci with the stick.

Luci turns his head with a jerk and hisses a warning. 

Naturally, Dean does it again.

This time Luci tenses up and growls a sharp warning, dropping full fangs and flaring.

Dean pokes him again. 

“Cut it off, Dean, I’m warning you,” Luci snarls.

Dean uses the stick to hit the board Luci’s holding out of his hand.

Luci flies up and launches himself at Dean who yelps and takes off running down the corridor with Luci hot on his heels. By the entrance when Dean starts going down the stairs Luci stops and turns back. Dean can’t allow that so he follows, poking the stick between Luci’s legs, tripping him up. Luci manages to catch himself in time not to faceplant but he roars in outrage and scrambles to get at Dean again and the merry chase is on.

* * *

“Fuck, you're fast. It's insane," Luci complains as they limp back into the building nodding greetings to the guards holding the doors open for them, giving them curious looks. They both look a bit dirty and scruffy after their brief scuffle.

“Dude, I've told you that before. Plus we were running on concrete and tarmac, no uneven terrain to keep track of on the go. You're not a bad runner yourself. If you hadn't been too pissed off to think straight you mighta caught me.” Dean doubts it, but Luci knows the area better and could have taken shortcuts if he’d used his brain to think tactically.

Luci grunts. "Does it hurt bad? Didn't mean to bite that hard. At least it's stopped bleeding now.” 

"Nah. It's just a flesh wound. It's gonna make a kick-ass scar when it heals. You’ve got some wicked fangs on you.” Dean winks and shoves at Luci playfully with his hip as they enter the elevator. It hurts, by all means, but it’s a type of pain Dean’s used to and can manage after growing up being Sam’s chew toy.

Luci pushes the button then traps Dean against the wall, boxing him in and marking him up affectionately. He's got three red scratch marks on his cheek from Dean's claws. They'll fade soon enough. Dean didn't break skin like Luci did when he bit Dean. Luci’s disgruntled and regretful now. The change from red rage to ‘Oh no, you’re hurt!’ when Luci realised Dean was bleeding, was hilarious. Technically, they’re not mated yet but Luci sure had reacted the same way Cas had during a rough and tumble if he hurt Dean more than intended to. Their scents are changing, mating bond slowly forming even without siphoning involved. Ever since Dean got mated with Marlon he’s had this itch like he needs to be with all the boys to bond with them. He didn’t really understand that irritable feeling until he lay with Gabe drowsing post-coitally on his chest and smelled the distinct pack bond between them. He’d asked dad over the phone why it was taking so long for the mating bonds to form with Gabe, Luci, and Mike when Raff and Marlon just happened. Dad had laughed and said that it was the normal way. That usually it took several lovemaking sessions with siphoning after you’d made the decision. Dean’s instant bond with Raff and Marlon, as well as Sam’s mating bonds popping into existence at first try was a lot more uncommon but not unheard of. Chemistry, heart, and mental state all play a part. 

Dean wraps his arms around Luci and looks up at him with admiration. He might legit be the most handsome, Alpha-ish Alpha out there. Now he’s sporting a low-intensity flare that barely glows but shows off that legendary red colour. “Hey…” Dean says. “Wanna help me break in the bed tonight?”

Luci huffs and smirks. “I have to build it first.”

“Nope. I think it’s done already. That’s why I stopped and let you catch me.” Dean grins impishly.

“ _What?_ Nooo,” Luci whines. “I wanted to do that.”

“Whelp. You shoulda read the manual,” Dean teases. “So is that a no?”

“No. It’s a yes. I want to break in the bed with you. Got to try out how sturdy those stupid Build-O-Plex beds really are,” Luci grouses.

Dean purrs and rubs himself against Luci, marking him up. At least the pack bond is there already. Faint, needing confirmation like with Gabe, but it’s there. Maybe after tonight, they’ll have both bonds.

When they get back the room is finished and the rug has been rolled out. Dick and Sam are there admiring the results with the boys preening under their praise. With a rug like that, you don’t need a bed which both Sam and Dick agree with. Marlon too, which is surprising but maybe shouldn’t be for someone who’s been living rough during the war. 

The bed takes up the greater part of a wall, currently in its folded up state looking like a big cabinet with two small night tables on either side. The recliner stands by the same wall in a corner, the desk on the opposite side from the recliner. The TV is mounted above the fireplace opposite the bed, hidden behind one of the paintings. There are chests of drawers and cabinets along the wall with the TV and desk, only reaching hip-high. And a big wardrobe takes up one wall.

“Where are you gonna put the bookshelves?” Sam asks.

"Booksh―? Are you serious? Dude. There's a library _literally_ right next door!” Sam has put in a lot of bookshelves in his room. Probably because he's too lazy to walk around the house, Dean thinks. He's barely been out of his room since he unpacked. He got himself a nice  
recliner too and had parked himself in it to read, only shuffling over to his desk when Gabe installed the laptop and set to teach Sam how to use it.

“Yeah, but… nevermind. Why do you have a bunch of religious paintings? You don't care about gods,” Sam asks instead.

“They're religious?" Dick asks. "To me, they look like fairytale pictures. Although, now that Sam mentions it, one might be of Darion fleeing the forest demons.” They're oil paintings all made by the same artist. The subjects―gods―are all depicted in epic landscapes from all over the world. 

“I guess. And I don't really care about gods but they're pretty awesome pics. That's my favorite,” Dean says and points at the big painting covering the TV. “The one to the right is Heimdallr and the black haired one to the left, is Loki. He gave birth to the eighth legged horse over there.”

"I get that they're gods and normal rules don’t apply, but I never figured out why the horse would have eight legs?” Mike remarks.

"Maybe Loki is one of the tentacled shifters and it translated to extra legs when he copulated with a horse?” Dick suggests slyly.

Dean forms a delighted, silent ‘Ooh’ with his mouth. 

As one, their looks are drawn to the ceramic octopus on top of the drawers along the wall. Dean's also got a ceramic wolfcat and a stag, all realistic and beautifully glazed. He'd gotten them because of what Dick said. 'Choose all the things you remotely like but don't need.’ Three big ceramic animals sure as hell fell into that category. But not even Dean can deny that the octopus is the odd one out.

Sam groans. “Don't encourage him."

* * *

Dean’s lying flat on his belly in bed when he hears that someone enters the room but he doesn't bother to open his eyes. Everyone else has risen to start the day long ago but Luci and Mike’s scents still linger in the sheets. When Dean was left alone he kicked the comforter off and pelted instead. As if by magic the elusive cat appeared to lie on top of him, purring and kneading his back with its little paws. Dean hasn’t seen much of the cat while he’s been here but anytime Marlon’s in his home office working the cat can supposedly be found in his lap according to his sons. You walk in on him he’ll be leaned back in his chair speaking on the phone, stroking the purring fiend like a Bond villain. Dean’s not sure what the cat is called so he just calls it ‘Little brother’.

Scent tells him it's Dick who entered when the bed dips.

“I thought you didn't like when people shift?” Dean mumbles. "If you retrieve the cover from the floor I'll unpelt for you.”

Dick scootches close and scratches his claws lightly through the thick fur on Dean's neck. “Don't be ridiculous, dear. You're quite cute like this. Makes me want to pet and cuddle you. It's just sex with someone shifted that…” he clicks his tongue in search of the right word, “repulses me.”

Dean shivers, hair rising in pleasure. He purrs in contentment.

Dick giggles. “The fur on your cheeks puff up when you shiver. Like a chipmunk.”

"I'm adorable," Dean says drowsily, lips pulling up in a smirk. “And I like it when you use your claws like this.”

“Mh. I’ve been clawing so often lately my fingers are constantly aching,” Dick muses.

“It’ll pass. Sasha told me it stops hurting the more you do it so I’m constantly shifting in one way or another. It barely hurts at all these days.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Dick pauses for a beat. “I must say, your thing for blankets surprises me, considering how warm your fur seems to be,” he remarks and strokes down along Dean's back, over the cat (increasing its purring) and down on Dean’s ass. “It's very soft.”

"Yeah, well. Until recently I never considered that I could pelt when I was cold. Then one day I was sick and Sam wasn't home so Sasha took me home to his place to take care of me. During the evening I was running a bad fever and was freezing my ass off. I went to bed and when I woke up I was no longer freezing. I had this human heater slash fur blanket wrapped around me. It was Sasha, fully shifted. Ain’t gonna lie, if I was noseblind I’d have freaked the fuck out. He looked nothing like he usually does. And he’s got paws, man. Like, they’re actual paws but with long fingers. All fuzzy with toebeans and everything.” Dean smiles wistfully, still with his eyes closed. “Anyway, when I saw him I pelted too. After that, I’ve started doing it. It’s great. Except how people I like are freaked out or abhorred…”

“Well. Rest assured that I'm not abhorred in any way. It's just sex that doesn't work for me with someone in their animal form.”

‘Animal form’. Dean likes the way Dick expresses that. Not 'with someone who's an animal’. It might seem like nothing but it's a description of how someone looks while shifted in comparison to a way to dehumanize someone. ‘Animal’ is used as a slur for Primals and Dean's sick of it. “I'm the opposite. Sasha, when he's fully shifted, is the most attractive man I've ever seen.”

"Are you in love with him?”

"Nah. Not like that. Not like with the Williams boys. But I love him. And he makes me feel like I belong in a way I've never really felt before. It's not like I've felt like I don't belong or anything, but, I dunno…” His shrug is made awkward by his position.

Dean can feel the cat get up and walk over his back to Dick. He doesn't know what the cat does when it steps off him but suddenly Dick sputters. “No. Dolus, that's enough. Stop. Shoo. Off you go.” Dick sits up and Dean opens his eyes to see Dick gently hoist the cat off the bed. The cat meows indignantly before throwing them a judging look and strutting out the door.

“The cat's name is Dolus?”

“Mhm. It’s Latin for trick, or hoax. Marlon named him after how hard Mike fell for the cat prank. Mike has named the cat something else but I don't remember what.”

“You don't like the cat?"

“Sure I do. It's Dolus who doesn't like me.”

"Yeah? How do you figure?”

"He kept trying to sleep on my face, smothering me,” Dick deadpans and lies back down.

Dean sniggers and flips over onto his back to see if Dick truly thinks that means the cat hates him, only to be met with impish amusement.

“Dolus is a dearheart but right now I want you all to myself. Can't pet two big furries at once, now can I?” Dick adds and runs his hand over Dean's chest and stomach.

“Furry, huh? Yeah, I'll take it. I'm a furry,” Dean muses and closes his eyes with a content smile, enjoying the gentle petting. He's never heard the word before. Maybe Dick made it up? It's better than being called an animal and doesn't sound like a slur. It sounds like an umbrella term for anyone with fur, animals included. For a moment he wonders how the livestock and pets back home would react to him like this? Maybe they'd freak out… or maybe they'd be like Dolus and like it. Not that he'll ever find out. 

For a long while they lie there, silent save for both of them purring while Dick pets and Dean gets used to being touched while pelted. It feels different than being touched on bare skin. Good, but different.

“Hey, Dick…?”

"Yes, dear?”

"Thanks.”

"For what?”

"For telling me what to do about the room, helping me pick. I thought I didn't need one and that I wasn't gonna use it anyway. But I like it. I love the paintings and the fireplace is _awesome_.”

Dick scoffs. "The flames barely look realistic and they change colour by a remote. The fireplace is abominable, dear.” There's a smile in his voice at the last sentence.

Dean opens his eyes and looks at him, serious. “I mean it. Thanks."

Dick smiles lazily at him. "You get what you give, love.”

"Boys!" Marlon pokes his head in the open doorway, anger spiky in his scent. "Would you be so kind to stop lazing around. Lunch is served. And, Dean, put that fur away before Mike gets home. I need him sharp, not horny.” Then he disappears as soon as he appeared.

Dick and Dean curl towards each other giggling.

“Who spit in his coffee?" Dean sniggers.

“He got a work-related call at quarter to five this morning and has been a polite ball of rage ever since.”

"Yeah? You spent your night with him?”

"I invited him up to break in the bed. We might actually have broken it.”

Both of them giggle again.

“ _Boys!_ " Marlon hollers impatiently from the kitchen.

Another round of giggling, then they finally get up to start the day...

* * *

A few days later Dean and Dick go to the dentist together. Dick's dentist had been alerted to Dean's fear and chose to use a room normally used for kits, with a big Where's Waldo?-poster taped to the ceiling. 'We're all kits when we're scared’ she told Dick. At first, she examined Dick, letting Dean hang over her shoulder while she explained what she was doing and what she was looking for. Then when it was Dean's turn Dick sat by his side and held his hand the whole time, purring soothingly trying not to yelp in pain with how hard Dean was squeezing his hand. Afterwards, Dean was insanely proud of himself, showing off the sticker the dentist gave him for his bravery to everyone close enough to admire it.

Dick thinks it was worth barely being able to use his hand for the rest of the day just to see how a stupid sticker made Dean glow.

* * *


End file.
